Lovelace

Once I finished reading Levy’s passage, “The Future that Never Happened”, I honestly felt a little confused. Levy covered multiple topics and their constrasting views. She deeply analyzed motherhood, rape, raunch feminism, female sexuality, and the topic that stuck out to me the most, porn.

What I liked about Levy’s chapter was her ability to relay both sides of every argument. In her discussion about porn, she does not deny its ability to show female sexual expression, but believes it may not be the most reliable educational tool for teaching men and women about their sexuality.

After reading this piece, I instantly thought of a movie I recently watched called Lovelace.  Lovelace (2013) tells the story about a girl originally named Linda Boreman, who falls in love and marries a man named Chuck Traynor. Chuck’s financial troubles lead to Linda’s involvement in a film called “Deep Throat”, which becomes ones of the first pornographic films to air in theatres and have a real developed plot. In the beginning of the movie, we see a loving wife who is helping her husband pay back his financial debt. It is an example of what Betty Freidan discusses in “The Problem that Has No Name” where women began to work in order to put her husband through school, help pay the mortgage, or benefit the family in some other financial way.

Some of the sex-positive feminists discussed by Levy would think a woman getting involved in the porn industry was a positive thing, especially if it was something she enjoyed. Showing her sexual expression and sexual desires on film would have been considered brave and sexually positive. But later in the movie, we see the struggles Linda Boreman, now known as Linda Lovelace, faces as a porn star and the truth behind her involvement in the porn industry. SPOILER ALERT: We see the domestic abuse she endured and emotional torture that being in this new industry caused her and her relationships with not only her husband, but her parents and future family.

This movie shows both female oppression and empowerment, which leads me to wonder what Levy and Freidan would say about it. In my opinion, it shows a woman’s immense growth and strength, not only in terms of dealing with an abusive relationship, but not letting herself feel shame. She learns to tell her story without being ashamed by her actions and develops herself into a strong woman.